Modern passenger cars have a number of airbags, such as front and side airbags, which serve to cushion the impact of the passenger with for example interior parts of a passenger car in case of an accident. The airbag assembly is usually located on the steering wheel or column, the dash board or the side of the door panels etc. The airbag surface is inflated by means of an explosive device known as a squib. The wires or cables from the crash sensors of the car are connected to the squib by means of a plug connector, the so called airbag squib connector. To this aim, the squib is provided with a socket (i.e. a counter-connector), which contains typically two contact pins. The airbag squib connector comprises a plug-in portion corresponding to the socket, respectively the counter-connector. To improve the connection between the airbag squib and the airbag squib connector, airbag squib retainer inserts are used, which are configured to fit into the receptacle of the airbag squibs and which facilitate and secure the connection between squib and squib connectors. These retainer inserts (also abbreviated as “retainer” or “insert”) are commonly provided with some kind of electro-conductive clip, that short circuits the contact pins of the airbag squib before a squib connector is connected to the airbag squib. The socket and the retainer insert build the counter-connector of the airbag ignition system.
Further, it is required that the airbag squib connector is grounded before the terminals of the airbag squib connector come into contact with the pins of the airbag squib. To this end, the electro-conductive clips used in the past were often provided with some kind of grounding contact (sometimes also denoted as grounding contact), which establish electrical continuity between e.g. the body of the vehicle and the airbag squib connector upon mating of the airbag squib connector with the airbag squib.
An example of the principle structure of an airbag squib is described in International Patent Application WO 2004/020933. The airbag squib disclosed in this document comprises an outer casing enclosing an igniter including a suitable pyro-technique charge. The airbag squib is provided with two contact pins that are electrically connected to an igniter wire, which can activate the charge of the airbag squib.
In International Patent Application WO 2010/070391 A1, an airbag squib connector for an airbag ignition system is disclosed, which is provided with two electrical contact terminals and a grounding contact. The electrical contact terminals are configured to electrically contact electrical contact pins of an airbag squib and the grounding contact is configured to electrically contact a grounding clip of an airbag squib retainer. The grounding contact is arranged to establish an electrical contact to a grounding clip of the airbag squib retainer. The grounding clip is provided with two contact members to short circuit the electrical contact pins of the airbag squib and with first and second grounding contacts configured to establish ground continuity between the grounding contact of the an airbag squib connector and an electro-conductive part of the airbag squib. Particularly, a contact section of the grounding contact of the airbag squib connector is arranged laterally offset to a symmetrical plane of the airbag squib connector that extends between the two electrical contact terminals. Further, the contact section extends essentially parallel to the mating direction of the airbag squib connector to a mating face thereof, to ensure, that the grounding contact electrically contacts the grounding clip during mating, before the terminals and the pins electrically contact each other.
Due to the position and arrangement of the grounding contact in the airbag squib connector, the grounding contact is provided as bending part, wherein the length of the contact section is at least dependent on the bending radius, the bending position and the sheet material used. Thus, there is a certain risk, e.g. due to manufacturing tolerances, that a distal end of the contact section extends beyond the mating face of the airbag squib connector and disturbs and/or hinders the mating. Further, the retainer, the airbag squib connector and/or the grounding contact could be damaged and/or deformed during mating, and as a result correct mating could become impossible.
To provide an improved positioning of the distal end of the contact section, in the art connector housings are known, having a longitudinal T-shaped support groove, to support the arrangement of the contact section. Particularly, with providing a longitudinal T-shaped support groove that extends essentially along the entire length of the contact section, the influence of the bending radius on the length of the contact section can be reduced. However, providing a longitudinal T-shaped support groove requires complex molding tools for manufacturing the connector housing and leads to undesirable high friction during assembly of the airbag squib connector.
The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.